I know that is hard to define but i am curious what people think.
Discovery has the advantage of being the lone Trek show for now.
Discovery has the advantage of being the lone Trek show for now.
Will Discovery have more impact on the culture than DS 9?
- Thread starter Lexx Shrapnel
- Start date
Discovery also has the disadvantage of being exclusive to CBS All Access. Really, there's no real way to tell just yet.
People want to pat themselves on the back for watching stuff that is seen as having some kind of impact.
I like to ponder Discovery's eventual place in this vast and lonely universe vis-à-vis Deep Space 9 when I'm trippin' on spores, man.
In seriousness, this question is largely unanswerable, and whether or not DSC captures the zeitgeist to the same degree as the bastard child of the franchise (and I say that despite DS9 being my favorite series) is a pretty low bar to meet anyway. The vast majority of non-Trekkies are either barely aware or completely unaware of DS9's existence, unlike TOS and TNG. At best they may muster up a "Is that the one with the black captain/guy?" (I've heard this multiple times).
On the one hand, DSC benefits from the internet being a much bigger thing than it was during DS9's time, so there are more opportunities to discuss it, but on the other hand, unlike the other shows which were on broadcast networks, it's on a subscription streaming service during the Golden Age of Television when there are countless choices of other things to watch both in and out of the genre, so it might not be as easy to gain a foothold in people's minds.
And most importantly, it's only been the first season so far, so we don't know if DSC's going to get better or worse or get cancelled or gain tons of new viewers by word of mouth, which will affect its memorability down the line.
I think DSC and DS9 have exactly the same amount of cultural impact in their respective decades. Sad but true.
Halt & Catch Fire -- another favorite show of mine -- never caught fire either.
Hopefully more people discover Discovery in the future as either more people get CBS All Access or more Americans start looking at it when it becomes available on different platforms. Right now though, it's stuck behind a CBSAA barrier. At least in the US.
Halt & Catch Fire -- another favorite show of mine -- never caught fire either.
Hopefully more people discover Discovery in the future as either more people get CBS All Access or more Americans start looking at it when it becomes available on different platforms. Right now though, it's stuck behind a CBSAA barrier. At least in the US.
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Or Netflix for the rest of the world, which is somewhat bigger.
I don't think ds9 made a blip 25 years ago and I doubt Disco will do much better now. But really I just want to be entertained. A show doesn't have to change the world.
Discovery has to get a lot more popular before it can have more impact than even DS9 and Voy. Most people don’t even know there is a new Trek.
Breaking Bad had a sequence that referenced DS9 and Voyager as a guy high on meth pitched a TOS ep. Family Guy has repeatedly referenced them. They don’t have huge impact outside of Trek fandom but they are known. DSC isn’t even really known yet.
I like to ponder Discovery's eventual place in this vast and lonely universe vis-à-vis Deep Space 9 when I'm trippin' on spores, man.
In seriousness, this question is largely unanswerable, and whether or not DSC captures the zeitgeist to the same degree as the bastard child of the franchise (and I say that despite DS9 being my favorite series) is a pretty low bar to meet anyway. The vast majority of non-Trekkies are either barely aware or completely unaware of DS9's existence, unlike TOS and TNG. At best they may muster up a "Is that the one with the black captain/guy?" (I've heard this multiple times).
On the one hand, DSC benefits from the internet being a much bigger thing than it was during DS9's time, so there are more opportunities to discuss it, but on the other hand, unlike the other shows which were on broadcast networks, it's on a subscription streaming service during the Golden Age of Television when there are countless choices of other things to watch both in and out of the genre, so it might not be as easy to gain a foothold in people's minds.
And most importantly, it's only been the first season so far, so we don't know if DSC's going to get better or worse or get cancelled or gain tons of new viewers by word of mouth, which will affect its memorability down the line.
Word
What is cultural impact? "Beam me up Scotty." "It's worse than that, he's dead Jim." Klingons, clinging on. Kirk and Spock. "Live long and prosper" (with or without the hand). There's a lot from TOS. The Borg from Next Gen. "You will be assimilated." I would suggest (but I'm biased) like it or not, Seven of Nine rated as cultural ripple at the time.
I can't think of a "Discovery" one as yet. The audience is not as everyday either.
I can't think of a "Discovery" one as yet. The audience is not as everyday either.
Only things that are fucking cool about DISCO will have an impact.
DS9 has the advantage that its impact has been felt, albeit in only limited circles, from things about it that were real as well as things about it that were fake.
DS9 has the advantage that its impact has been felt, albeit in only limited circles, from things about it that were real as well as things about it that were fake.
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